The present disclosure relates to a video-based method and system for drive-through order management, and in particular to a vehicle detection/localization approach for queued vehicle traffic using images/videos obtained from a fixed video camera. However, it is to be appreciated that the present exemplary embodiments are also applicable to other like applications.
A “drive-through” is a type of service provided by a business such as, for example, fast-food restaurant, bank, pharmacy, and coffee shop that permits a customer to purchase a product without leaving their vehicle. Such drive-through services provide the customer with fast and convenient service while increasing the number of customers that may be served through conventional walk-in transactions. Orders can be generally placed utilizing a microphone and picked up in person at the window. As the order is being placed, an order-taker enters the order information into an order management system. The order information can be displayed on a display such that the order can be assembled by a runner.
Conventional ordering paradigms utilize a single-queue approach. The problem associated with such approach is that the vehicles can get out of order between the time the order is placed and the vehicle receives the product. Additionally, such prior art approaches do not ensure that the correct product is being delivered to the vehicle that placed the order which reduces order accuracy and efficiency. Such problems are exacerbated in highly trafficked locations where multiple lanes of order placement exist for each order processing window which result in decreased customer satisfaction and significant loss of revenues.
In some drive through service architectures, there have been recent initiatives to include side-by-side order points. The intention of two lanes is to accommodate more cars in the queue, and to reduce the number of “drive off” instances (a customer arrives, concludes that the line is too long, and so decides to leave). In most of these multi-lane drive-thru architectures, the line starts as a single lane that splits into two separate lanes with ordering consoles, and then the two lanes merge again into a single lane for payment and pickup. The two separate ordering points and re-merger of the lanes can cause a mismatch between the sequence in which the food orders were taken and the sequence of cars that arrive at the pay and pickup counters. This “out of sequencing” can result in the wrong expenses charged to the customer and/or the delivery of the wrong food to the customer (contributing significantly to customer dissatisfaction). Even if the accuracy of the delivered orders is maintained, these out of sequence events result in significant time loss (inefficiency) as the employees re-sequence the orders to match the vehicles in the queue.
Based on the foregoing, it is believed that a need exists for an improved system and method for providing signature based drive-through order tracking, as described in greater detail herein.